Coventry Wedding Photographer
I had the pleasure of being Lucy & Stephen’s wedding photographer for their February wedding. I met the bride and her bridal party at Lucy’s home, then we went on the Cheylesmore Manor House for the wedding ceremony, then everyone headed to the Burnt Post pub in Coventry for the wedding breakfast and evening reception.
Bridal Preparations
Lucy spent the morning getting ready at her home in Coventry with her parents and bridesmaids all 9 of them, and her very important family member her gorgeous Staffordshire bullterrier dog. I had so many cuddles with her and of course I took lots of lovely doggy wedding photos of her in the lounge whilst Lucy was just getting ready for me to head upstairs!
The bridesmaids had been getting ready durning the morning when I arrived at 2pm they were all dressed in gorgeous red dresses and ready to start celebrating, with shots (for the adults only) and it looked like lots of gifts had been exchanged, so I took photos of these small details during the few quiet moments with the group.
The couple had also hired 2 content creators so the 3 of us worked well together capturing details of the bouquet, and roses that were for the bridesmaids.
When Lucy came down the stairs she had asked to do some first looks, so Lucy went into the front room and I had organised her dad on the count of the to come in for his very important first look, the light in the front room was perfect with lots of natural light coming through the windows, dad and Lucy were very emotional. I captured all of the emotions, tears and smiles photographing those special moments.
Then I went into the back room where the bridal party were all waiting to see Lucy and her wonderful dress. It was a tight squeeze and I had to add a light into the room as it was a little dark, again I photographed all of the happy emotions before Lucy came in and certainly when she entered the room to show herself off!
All of the ladies then celebrated with shots, I arranged them all together and to cheers in the middle.
Then off the the ceremony… Traffic was really busy!
The Ceremony in the Black Prince Room
The ceremony took place in one of Cheylesmore Manor House ceremony rooms the biggest of the ceremony rooms the Black Prince Room.
Stephen was all ready to go when I arrived, he was excited and looked amazing in his kilt. Lucy had already advised me that her brother is epileptic so I knew that using the soft flash would not be an option, it was a bright day so the room did have light coming through, as it can be quite a dark room to capture your wedding photos.
Each bridesmaid came down the aisle and placed their rose on an empty chair that was decorated in memory of a loved one, as this is a really important detail, so I made sure I photographed this before the ceremony then after with the flowers laid on too.
As the registrars conducted the ceremony I photographed the emotions on their faces and the family and friends watching. Making sure I capture the really important elements of the ceremony too, this is also when the registrar just carefully steps aside to let me know I can move into a central position. This is when the bride walks down the aisle, vowels being exchanged, ring exchange and the very important first kiss. These are the key elements as a wedding photographer I need to capture, its great that the team at Coventry Registry office are so accommodating. And the signing of the register this is always a mock up as you are not allowed to photograph the legal document.
Once the ceremony had concluded all of the guests headed downstairs to get ready for the confetti shot, I kept the bride and groom upstairs to capture some shots of the 2 of. them in the ceremony room by the gorgeous stone fire place and the lovely leather chairs in the waiting area, as I love the wooden beams for a really nice rustic look to the photos.
Couple Portraits & Groups
After the ceremony, we took advantage of the dry skies and winter sun for the couples portraits. The cool breeze and beaming sun gave us a chilly afternoon, but I had a large list of group photos to get through so everyone was ready to get them done in a really great order and speedy just in case the rain came along.
As the couple walked out of the wooden door everyone had confetti ready to do the confetti shots, one of my favorite photos to capture on any wedding day. I always get told how boring I am when I tell everyone to throw the confetti up in the air and not directly into their faces!
After capturing all of the group shots of family and friends, We spent 15 mins in the back area of the registry office with Lucy and Stephen, having photos around the stunning wooden door way, under the arch with the wooden beams and on the mini bridge capturing a small amount of photos of the new Mr & Mrs as they had asked me not to do overly posed photos or too romantic!
The Burnt Post Wedding Breakfast
As I entered the Burnt post I didn’t know what to expect, but wow they had really turned the venue from a pub setting to a lovely wedding background!
I swiftly captured photos of the room and detailed photos of the table settings and cake. Photos of the guests taking their seats ready for the speeches. I had my on camera flash on my camera as it was a little darker on the lighting.
I captured the speeches given by Stephen and Lucy’s Dad. We did the cake cut then into the entertainment with lots of children dancing on the dance floor!
